The problematic question of "what is craft beer?" has now had a philosopher get involved. Brewer & Distiller International magazine has an article from some time philosophy lecturer and Heriot-Watt brewing graduate Andrew Jorgensen addressing this.
Of course those of us at the cutting edge of beer nerdery have long since decided it's simply a marketing term but it's interesting to see the IBD discussing this topic.
In the article the Brewers Association official definition is dissected and found lacking, and the usual guff about "passion" is dismissed as being too vague and usable by anyone. Instead what philosophers call "Direction-of-Fit" is called in to play:
"For a beer to sell well and be successful there needs to be a match between the attributes of the beer and the taste of the public. But there are two ways this 'fit' can be achieved. Either the beer takes its direction from and is designed to fit people's tastes. This is a beer-to-public direction-of-fit because the fit is achieved by making beer that conforms to people's tastes. Or the beer is made according to the brewer's tastes but s/he hopes to bring the public over to them. This is a public-to-beer direction-of-fit because people's tastes have to conform to the attributes of the beer if the brewer's desire to brew a successful beer is to be realised."
Though different philosophies might be at work, I still don't see this how this actually makes "craft beer" something distinct from other beer, as surely a brewer doesn't have to consistently stick to one of the philosophies and in his or her range of beers they could have some that are "beer-to-public" and some that are "public-to-beer".
I remember a conversation I had a few years back with the last Head Brewer of Young's. He described Young's Special London Ale, an excellent IPA of 6.4% ABV, as a "brewer's beer" because it was the sort of beer brewers make to their own taste, not the taste of the public. This seems to closely match with the "two philosophies" idea but though the philosophies behind Young's Special London Ale and Young's "Ordinary" may be different they both come from the same brewery.
"Craft" beer and "non-craft" beer may be aimed at different markets but really that just seems to confirm that "craft beer" is just a marketing term. Some breweries focus on one type of beer, some on the other, and some do both.
We're getting close to something like a definition, we think. Maybe. Important thing is that 'craft beer' isn't a type of beer so much as a social phenomenon. I.e., cask ale is a type of beer; 'real ale' is a 'movement'.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough I think the 'direction of fit' discussion, if you take it a bit further, gets to the heart of what craft beer really is. It even explains why people who believe in 'craft beer' talk in terms of the quality of the beer itself, while sceptics see it in terms of marketing. It also explains why the size of the craft-beer-drinking scene - and the relative size of the craft scene as compared to the broader decent-beer-drinking scene - is so important, and hence why 'craft' is so much less controversial in the US. Plus, why Punk IPA is and always will be 'craft' and Young's Special isn't and will never be.
ReplyDeleteAre you sitting comfortably? Here goes.
Craft beer is: beer brewed to appeal to drinkers who want to drink beer brewed to appeal to the brewers.
Does that work or does that work?
It does work. Not definitive, but it's a good take. Like people who like to eat the cuts of meat butchers take home for themselves?
ReplyDeleteI still think my definition of "beer brewed to appeal to people who claim to like craft beer" is the most succinct.
ReplyDeleteI think bailey is right though: craft beer is more of a movement than a product. Its people looking at the choice of beer at 95% of british pubs and saying "surely we must be able to do better than this?". Whereas the real ale movement on the 60s and 70s looked backwards and inwards (no bad thing), the UK craft beer movement looks forwards and outwards.
I'm with your definition, though "fanboy-ish and extremophile" has a lot to do with it... #HarderFasterLongerMORE
DeleteIs it craft to make an IPA because they sell well? That's surely why there are so many.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...things could be coming together here. I think 'beer brewed to appeal to beer enthusiasts' probably covers most of it.
ReplyDeleteExcept that I'm a beer enthusiast and they're not brewing for me. It's a particular sort of beer enthusiast, and I think the idea of brewers making something that's a bit different and special, as it were behind closed doors, is key to what they're enthusiastic for.
DeleteAs an image it's a bit unrealistic, in a fanboy-ish and extremophile way - if they did brew for fun and their own palate most brewers probably wouldn't go all out for stronger, hoppier, weirder. Hence the cult appeal of brewers who do fit that template, like BD and Mikkeller.
I see your point, but there's more to craft beer than the extremophile fanboy thing. I believe Sam Adam's Boston Lager is the best selling craft beer, and there's nothing OTT about it.
Deletepy0, your definition is quite circular though. I think Andrew's (the author of the article) definition is quite good, but I think Chris points out a problem- a lot of what we recognise as 'craft' fails on Andrew's definition. Every US craft brewery needs a mega hopped IPA. Every Irish craft brewery needs a snooze-inducingly boring red ale. We have no reason to believe these choices are the brewers' , and it seems far more likely they are aimed at a perceived craft beer market
ReplyDeleteIt is circular, but then the whole concept of craft beer has developed as a feedback loop between brewers and critics/bloggers/enthusiasts, so any accurate definition will by its nature be circular.
DeleteThe extremophile end certainly has a feedback loop, but I guess following on from the philosopher I'm thinking of craft beer in broader terms.
DeleteDid craft beer exist in the UK before the concept of craft beer existed?
DeleteThe Craft Brewing Association has been around for years and the origins of its name has nothing to do with how beer geeks use the term 'craft beer' now.
DeleteI think we're going off track. The point is that the concept of "craft beer" in the UK originated as a reaction against the perceived poor choice and quality of beer that was available at that particular point in time. The growth in demand for a tastier and more interesting range of beers and the new influx of UK breweries who recognised and supplied that demand have grown together symbiotically.
DeleteYour definition of 'beer brewed to appeal to beer enthusiasts' is close, but 'beer brewed to appeal to previously dissatisfied beer enthusiasts' is probably more accurate. As Phil pointed out, he was perfectly satisfied with the beer already available to him, so the forward and outward looking craft beer movement has nothing to offer him.
I doesn't fit in with my experience at all. I've drunk cask beer as a preference for over 20 years and still do, but when I discovered Goose Island IPA back in the days when Safeways was around I though it was great and still do.
DeleteWhen UK brewers started making US influences stuff I saw it as a welcome addition but I really don't see the "craft beer movement" as something completely separate from what had been around before.
Cracking post Ed. Though I still recon Cooking Lager has already nailed this one, laying waste to all arguments.
ReplyDeleteA comment from one brewer I spoke to recently...
ReplyDelete"It's only craft beer if you dig out the mashtun by hand!"
That certainly fits in with the actual meaning of craft.
DeleteSo - Brain's "mini brewery" is craft, because you need a shovel to clear the mash tun, but the beer made 10 feet away in the original "big" mash tuns isn't because the debris is removed by hand? And everything was craft, even in places producing a million or more barrels a year, before the introduction of mechanical mash shovellers? Doesn't work for me ...
Delete